REDWOOD CITY, Calif., - May 29, 2009 – Electronic Arts Inc., (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced today that EA Tiburon, the development studio of the best-selling* golf simulation Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® franchise, is introducing an innovative and ground-breaking new product - Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® Online. Available this fall, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online is an authentic golf simulation experience that is dynamically streamed to a web browser and requires no game installation, no disc, and no additional peripherals. This game is easily accessible and available anywhere, via a web browser and an internet connection.

“Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online is for anyone who loves golf and is on-the-go,” said Executive Producer Mike Taramykin. “Whether you have ten minutes on your PC in the office, or hours on your Mac at home, this is a golf game that makes time for you. With Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online, golf lovers can satisfy their golf fix anytime.”

Stuck at the airport waiting for a flight? If you have an internet connection, just open up your computer and fire up Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online! The game is literally just a click away and has high resolution 3D graphics, delivers a feature rich experience and will be regularly updated with new features.

At launch, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online will include several world class championship courses, such as Pebble Beach, TPC Sawgrass and St. Andrews, while additional new courses will be available on a regular basis. In addition, a fully stocked schedule of tournaments and multiple community features, allowing fans to connect and compete with friends, makes Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online a community for all golf fans. This community will help shape the game’s evolution, including features such as new course additions, pro shop items, and even tournament conditions.

Your time is at a premium and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online is designed to work around your schedule – suspend play and resume from the exact same point at a later time. Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online will be the most accessible and feature-rich golf video game experience available on any personal computer.

Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online will be offered through a multi-tiered subscription in fall of 2009.

For the online crowd, sure. For those of us who were expecting an offline PC game, it pretty much stinks. And yes, it's been confirmed that TW 10 will not be released on disk, and neither will it be available for download.

I think you can thank the overall poor PC Sports game market and pirates for this....and I don't know too many folks who don't have online access and/or play online games....

I don't buy that. EA is obviously in ecstasy over the money they anticipate making by selling online content. I'd say their wet shorts had much more of an influence on their decision to make an online-only game, than excuses about game pirating. If game pirating was such an issue, developers would have completely stopped making games for the PC long ago.

Sorry you don't buy it. Facts are facts and this online method will prevent the mass pirating that has infected the PC Sports game market and PC game market in general. The economics DO NOT LIE...

SOURCE: NPD Data

I will also admit that EA did not treat the PC Sports game market with the same attention to detail and resources that they have with the recent 360/PS3 versions. They are now committed to the future of TW on the PC with this completely new approach to the game. Time will tell if they made the right choices....

Sign up for the beta and if selected you will find out for yourself. The team building this game is not the EA you are familiar with from past TW PC games....

Divot,

How is the current TW PC community taking the news? I imagine this has to really hamper some of the course creation the current community is built around. I am wondering if this is going to create the kind of situation we have seen in other games(MVP05, Links, etc) where TW08PC will become a commodity.

How is the current TW PC community taking the news? I imagine this has to really hamper some of the course creation the current community is built around. I am wondering if this is going to create the kind of situation we have seen in other games(MVP05, Links, etc) where TW08PC will become a commodity.

Mixed. Many are worried about custom courses going away and other are worried about not having a DVD for the game itself. When everyone sees the entire strategy that EA is employing, I do believe many fears will be subdued...

Has anyone here actually been selected for the beta? I signed up a week ago but haven't heard anything (and not really expecting to). Just curious.

I was in the first beta, but the only way I knew I got accepted was by logging in on my own. I was never sent a message saying "go to IRL.0000.000.000 and log in. I filled out the application and that was the last formal process I did before simply logging in. I wouldn't bother trying any more until you hear from Divot, that the next phase is "live".

I can say that I was impressed with what I saw of the first beta, keeping in mind that it was an early beta. I honestly can't tell whether I'm going to like a golf game based on a click interface. One thing I can already say, I won't have any qualms about its ability to deliver quality graphics in a more than timely fashion via browser interface... it's amazing in that sense!

I just know this one has a chance if they get the mouse swing, and hopefully later on (I don't know this is coming... just pure speculation) gamepad/controller swing interface working. I'd even like to see them have the ability to adopt the Sixense motion controller, once it hits domestically.

They're fine. I actually prefer an always connected experience.
I'd really prefer an offline way to play, but its not a bother.
I don't really like them, and am more reluctant to buy a game because of it.
I won't buy them. I want my games offline.